Bringing Liquor Home

[LilPony]

Hi - where can i find the limits on what we can bring home duty free - we are doing the western route (cozumel, grand cayman, and ocho rios) - also DD is 18, can we add her into the 'per person' or do you have to be 21?

 

thanks

[okbowler]

I believe the limit is one liter per person. Do not know if daughter qualifies. We generally bring back about 4 liters on cruises that do not stop at St . Thomas. Special rules for St. Thomas. Have never been charged duty on what we bring back, but would pay it if charged. I believe that duty is charged on alcohol content and not purchase price. Since we buy high end liquors ,duty wouldn't change price enough to matter. imho. Bill

[DCPIV]

According to the Feds, you can bring back one liter per person, duty free. You can bring back more and pay a duty on it (if they make you), so long as it doesn't violate state law.

 

Your daughter doesn't count until she's 21. Sorry.:)

 

 

D

[takeit2x]

Just remember if you are flying back home you can't carry on your purchases. They must be checked. Ours made it home safely in the cardboard box in our suitcase but we tied it in a plastic bag just in case.

[wolfcathorse]

I was behind 1 guy on Legend that was buying 5 litres of Tangueray Gin. The clerk told him don't worry about the duty as it amounted to something like $5.20. I listed 2 litres of DeWars Scotch (to be honest, and to show I wasn't trying to hide anything) and the Customs agent never even looked at my declaration form.

[tall traveler]

I thought I read somewhere that if you are flying out of San Juan you can bring duty free alcohol on board to bring home. Is this accurate?

[gkrebs]

On board the plane or on board the ship. Cant bring any type of liquid over 3 oz. on any plane, even those coming form San Juan.

 

For western cruise as has been stated 1 litre person over age of 21. Duty on the rest if they bother. The duty is based on the proof of the liguor, so if you list it, then list the proofs with each bottle, customs will automatically not charge duty on the bottles with the highest proofs up to your limit. Thats why cordials with the lower proofs are always a great buy and cheap to pay the duty on. I got nailed in Decemeber by customs on a western cruise and I only had 6 bottles between the 2 of us. They were going to make us open the suitcases to inspect each bottle that was not in the cardboard box. Thats when the agent told me the duty is by the proof so they have to look at all the bottles. Then she saw the look on my DW and my face and said have a nice christmas and said next time list each bottle with its proof on the form and that would make it much easier on us.

[LilPony]

thanks for the reminder of liquor being packed in suitcases I completely forgot -

 

I used to fly out of San Juan on business several times a year and they have a nice liquor store in 'waiting area' - after you pass thru security - I think you may be able to take that product on plane - I'm not sure f prices as I bought in town

[gkrebs]

thanks for the reminder of liquor being packed in suitcases I completely forgot -

 

I used to fly out of San Juan on business several times a year and they have a nice liquor store in 'waiting area' - after you pass thru security - I think you may be able to take that product on plane - I'm not sure f prices as I bought in town

 

LilPony,

 

Yes you are right, you can take the liguor you buy after checking through security to the plane and the prices arent that bad, but not as good as you get on some of the other islands. I forgot about that

[wieslaw]

Hi,

I copied this from U.S. Customs &Border Protection web page.

this below is a copy of "Answer ID 190" Created on 01/23/2003 06:35PM

and updated 10/27/2006 01:27PM

 

"Can I bring back alcohol for my personal use? Question Can I bring back alcohol for my personal use or as a gift? Answer

Generally, one liter per person may be entered into the U.S. duty-free by travelers who are 21 or older, although travelers coming from the U.S. Virgin Islands or other Caribbean countries are entitled to more. See our publication, "Know Before You Go" for additional information.

Additional quantities may be entered, although they will be subject to duty and IRS taxes.

Duty is generally 3% of value and the IRS excise tax is generally between 21-31cents per 750ml bottle of wine, 67 cents/champaigne, and $2.14/ hard liquor.

It is not legal for travelers under the age of 21 to import alcohol - even as a gift.

The total amount of alcohol you may enter the country with is primarily determined by the laws of the state where you will arrive back into the U.S. Each state's ABC board (or equivalent ) sets the amount of alcohol a person may bring into the state without a license or permit from that state. Travelers must check with the appropriate state ABC board, as the amounts vary from state to state. We regret that we are unable to provide this information, but CBP staff is not able to maintain information about each of the 50 State's various requirements.

There is no federal limit on the amount of alcohol a traveler may import into the U.S. for personal use, however, large quantities might raise the suspicion that the importation is for commercial purposes, and a CBP officer could require the importer to obtain an TTB import license (which is required for all commercial importations) before releasing it. If you do intend to travel with a large quantity of alcohol, we suggest you contact the entry branch of the port you will be entering the country through to discuss your situation in advance.

Duty rates on alcoholic beverages can be obtained in Chapter 22, "Beverages, Spirits and Vinegar," in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. Alcoholic beverages purchased in duty-free shops are subject to duty when you bring them with you into the United States."

 

I hope that answers some of the questions.

 

Wes

[JsBs81]

Thanks that does help, leaving in a day and half and look forward to bringing back a few bottles.

[roadnut]

Definitely, don't worry about a few dollars. I think I remember the fee was $3 in excess of 1 litre...still cheaper than if we had bought it at home (we went a little wild...brought back about 12 bottles!!!)

[geojobes]

In 2002 we bought 6 bottles between my wife & I thru NY. They charged use $3 per bottle after the 1st 2. We brought in 7 bottles into Philly in 2006. I showed the form with this listed to customs, they said forget it & didn't charge me a dime. I kept thinking someone was gonna nail me before we got out of the port. All went well. Of course, it's mostly gone now.

[Bob Finiki]

Be Very careful when you pack these bootles. Our DD's boyfriend tried to bring some rum back and 2 of 3 didn't make it. We had forgotten to bring bubble wrap, and when we asked the AIRTRAN person to please put fragile stickers on the suitcase, he got pissed, said he ran out of them. Took the bags, threw them on the belt. Yo ho ho, and 2 bottles of rum......all over his clothes, and probably other people's as well. Oh well, live and learn. Won't be trying to save a few bucks anymore on liquor. Good thing I didn't get the Johnny Walker Blue that a co-worker wanted. About $130 a bottle, whew!

[wieslaw]

Be Very careful when you pack these bootles. Our DD's boyfriend tried to bring some rum back and 2 of 3 didn't make it. We had forgotten to bring bubble wrap, and when we asked the AIRTRAN person to please put fragile stickers on the suitcase, he got pissed, said he ran out of them. Took the bags, threw them on the belt. Yo ho ho, and 2 bottles of rum......all over his clothes, and probably other people's as well. Oh well, live and learn. Won't be trying to save a few bucks anymore on liquor. Good thing I didn't get the Johnny Walker Blue that a co-worker wanted. About $130 a bottle, whew!

 

Hi Bob, even the bubble wrap might not help much.....

 

Just yesterday talked with my fellow worker whose son works for a company that designs some of the conveyer system for airports, he explained to me (per his son explanation) that there are many 'readers' installed on the way where the bags are being moved, the readers 'read' the label on your bag and direct your bag at the 'intersections' to the proper collection point for your flight. The movement / change of directions of your bag is done with swinging arms, that move pretty fast and actually your bag gets a pretty good 'kick' / 'hit' with this arm hits your bag to send it the correct way. So that is why sometimes even the hard plactic bags (of lower quality) get damaged.....if the bag is soft and there is 'glass' in it...you can imagine what is the end result.

The designers of the system claim there is not much that can be done....they need the speed and the force to move the bags.

 

Wes

[mommy4max]

We did the 7-day Western Caribbean run (Key West, Caymans and Cozumel) last Thanksgiving. In the Caymans, we hit the Tortuga Rum Factory. I think we came back with 7 bottles of booze in our suitcases (wrapped up VERY well and wrapped again!). I listed it ALL on our duty slip at customs and they never batted an eye about charging us duty on it. I was truly surprised. But we were also one of the first ones off the ship and through customs and maybe the customs agents just really wanted to get people through quickly and didn't worry about charging duty unless you were bringing in BIG ticket items.....